The Phoenix
by Aslan's Author
Summary: Sir William the Phoenix is a legend in Narnian history, however to know the man behind the legend we must go back and see his story for ourselves. This is the story of my OC from the Susan and William Trilogy, Please Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1

The Phoenix

Part I

Chapter One

_6__th__ May 1897, London, England_

The sound of the clock on the mantelpiece was the only thing the broke the silence in the comfortable living room. There was a beautifully carved wooden fireplace where flames lit up the room, the carpets were accurately laid and looked absolutely elegant. The furniture looked comfortable and showed the comfort and relaxation that the room could provide and would ultimately make anyone feel at home.

A man sat in one of the armchair's by the fire staring up at the many books crammed into artistic carved bookcase. He looked to be a man of wealth with his neatly trimmed brown hair as well as moustache, he wore a grey suit which was accompanied by golden buttons and didn't seem to have anything out of place.

He smoked a cigar as he sat in silence; he could hear footsteps above him and could hear screaming being muffled due to the heavy wooden floors above him. His wife had been in labour for hours and he couldn't help but be nervous as his first born child was in process of entering the world especially since him and his wife had been trying for a long time.

Finally the screams stopped and were instead replaced by the cries of a new born baby echoing around the house. The door to room opened and a man with grey hair and wearing a smart black suit complete with a grey waistcoat entered.

"Mr. Harkett, you have a son sir" the man informed

Edward Harkett put down his cigar on an ashtray which sat on the table next to his armchair, he gave a sigh of relief and his mouth broke into a beaming smile. He walked forward and shook the other man's hand causing him to be a bit surprised as it was not considered proper for an upper class man to shake the hand of his servant.

"Thank you Thomas, now show me my son" he replied

Thomas led Edward up the stairs to the houses master bedroom where they knocked before entering. The first thing they saw when they entered the room was a beautiful woman lying on the bed, her red hair draped across the pillows and in her arms she held a beautiful new born baby.

"Alice" Edward said

The woman looked up at him and gave him a lovely smile, her eyes were a beautiful emerald green and Edward still had trouble believing that she was his wife. He walked past Mrs. Cole who was the housekeeper; she was a short woman with curly grey hair.

"Edward meet your son" Alice said passing the child wrapped in a white blanket to the father

Edward took the baby into his eyes and watched as his son slept peacefully all tired out after his journey of birth. He looked back at Alice and gave her another beaming smile, she smiled back but she looked exhausted.

"He's perfect" Edward whispered with a smile

"We still need a name for him" Alice added

Edward walked over to the window his eyes not leaving the face of his new born son until he reached the window. He looked up at the sky to see the stars that were present; he then looked out across the city of London which was visible from the window.

"When I was a child, my father used to tell my brother and me stories about William Wallace. He was a man who defended the Scottish against the English; he was courageous and heroic and is still considered to be a national hero of Scotland today" Edward explained

"William, I like it" Alice said with a smile

Edward smiled at her and then looked down at William again, he had high hopes for his son and he knew that he would grow up to do great and incredible things. Edward himself was a member of the British Parliament and also a former soldier. He hoped that maybe one day William would follow in his footsteps.

* * *

_22__nd__ December 1911_

Soon William was joined by his younger brother George who was born in 1899 and his little sister Elizabeth who was born in 1904. The Harkett family was a well-respected family in the upper class society, with Edward Harkett as a Member of Parliament and Alice Harkett who was a well-known suffragist for Women's rights.

So on a cold December day twelve year old George Harkett was running through the streets that hosted the market near Bedford Square, he was running as fast as his legs could carry him and finally stopped when he entered the market. There were many people going about their business and paying no attention to him, he began to ran again searching everywhere.

He ran past an office building and stopped dead at seeing the boy he was searching for kissing a girl up against the wall of the building. George hurried over and stopped as the couple continued to kiss.

"William"! He shouted.

Fourteen year old William Harkett pulled away from the girl he was kissing and turned around to glare at his little brother. George took a nervous step back from his brother's glare.

"George, what do you want"? William demanded

"Mother and Father will be home soon, Mrs. Cole sent me to get you" George explained.

William just shook his head and turned back to the young girl who was watching the scene before her, she tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. William stroked her cheek with his thumb which caused her to blush.

"Sorry about him, he has a talent for interrupting people" William said making sure George could hear him.

The girl giggled as the embarrassed George hung his head at his brother's teasing; William gave the girl one more kiss before he started to walk through the market as George hurried after him.

"George I swear you were born to be nothing more than a nuisance to me" William said harshly

"But I was sent to get you" George replied

"I don't care George, I was in the middle of something very important" William responded angrily

George didn't speak after that but just followed his older brother through the market; they walked through the alleyways until they exited into Bedford Square. The square was one of the most famous ones in London and was well known for housing the rich and famous.

They walked through the park in the middle of the square passing many of its residents out walking with their children or walking their dogs. William continued to one of the many houses where a black door and a big gold knocker with a Lion's head greeted them.

William knocked on the door and waited for a few minutes until finally the door opened and a short elderly woman opened the door and glared at the two boys.

"Where have you been"! The woman shouted

"I just out for a walk Mrs. Cole" William replied in defence

"I swear one day you'll be the death of me William Harkett"! She yelled

William just rolled his eyes as she moved out of the way to let him pass, George followed him into the hallway of the house. Many paintings were hung along the walls, each painting was of a male in military uniform; these were the Harkett ancestors.

William and George didn't look at the paintings as they passed, they continued to the comfortable living room where their mother and father sat in the comfortable armchairs next to the fire. Alice was knitting a piece of clothing while Edward was reading the London Herald newspaper.

They looked up as their sons entered the room; Edward put the paper down and smiled straight at William. George smiled but his father did not pay any attention to him, nobody else noticed that as a young woman walked into the room holding the hand of a little girl.

The little girl ran and hugged William as soon as she spotted, however William pushed the little girl away. She looked crestfallen at his behaviour; however George walked forward and placed his hands on her shoulders in comfort.

"Not the time Lizzie" William said not looking at her

George hugged her and glared at his older brother, William had never been the kind and supporting older sibling he should have been. Edward nodded to the young woman who had bought Lizzie in and she nodded back.

"Thank you Emily, you may go now" he said

Emily the maid exited the room leaving the Harkett family to have its privacy, once the door was closed Edward nodded to Alice who pulled out three parcels and handed them each to her children.

The three of them each took the parcels and opened them to reveal two new suits for the boys and a lovely red dress for Lizzie. Edward and Alice smiled and then instructed their children to sit.

"Now you three as you are aware we will be having our annual Christmas Eve party on Saturday and this year there will be some very important people coming" Edward explained

"Who father"? William asked

"This year the Prime Minister is coming along with his wife"

William nodded and smiled at that, he knew his father was trying to make stronger ties in the government and being on good terms with the Prime Minister would create more benefits for their family.

"Who else father"? George asked

"Winston Churchill" Edward replied

"Who's that father"? George asked

"He's the First Lord of the Admiralty, you're so stupid" William snapped at him.

George just hung his head once again, Alice gave her son a sympathetic look but Edward failed to notice as his eyes were firmly on William. It was obvious that William was the favourite child in the eyes of Edward.

"So now that you have your new clothes I want all three of you looking your best and want you all to be on your best behaviour, especially you George" Edward said finally looking at his second son.

George nodded and then hurried out of the living room and up the stairs to his room, Edward and William started talking about the political figures which will be attending the party, however Alice and Lizzie knew that George needed them right now and followed him up the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

Part I

Chapter Two

_Christmas Eve, 1911_

William and George stood in the hallway dressed in identical black suits; Lizzie was stood next to them in a lovely red dress. She kept trying to hold William's hand but he kept pushing hers away, eventually he glared at her and warned her to stop doing it.

Their father's valet Thomas stood next to the door waiting for the guests to arrive; Mrs. Cole and Emily were both allowed to wear dresses but were charged with walking around the house with trays of food and drink for the guests.

Finally there came a knock on the door and Thomas opened it to reveal a group of three men and one woman. The men wore elegant tuxedos while the woman wore a stunning blue dress which matched well with her dark raven hair.

"Ah Prime Minister so good to have you in my home" a voice shouted

Edward and Alice walked down the stairs; Edward wore a tuxedo just like the men of their class would. Alice wore a dark green dress; her emerald green eyes which were matched only by William seemed to glisten in the lights of the house.

Out of the three children William was the most different, he was the only one to have gotten his mother's eyes and his father's hair. George and Lizzie both had Alice's red hair and both had Edward's chocolate brown eyes.

"Edward, thank you for the invite" replied Herbert Henry Asquith, who was the current Prime Minister of Great Britain.

"I am honoured you accepted it" Edward responded by shaking his hand.

"Well then let the party begin" The Prime Minister announced with a smile.

* * *

The party was in full swing, a band played in the great dining room which allowed the rich and wealthy men to dance with their wives. Other men smoked cigars and drank brandy and champagne while talking and laughing; many well-known people were present at the party.

William and George were walking through the party watching the many men and women dancing, everyone had clothes made from the finest fabrics and at that moment William had to admit that he loved his life.

He spotted two young ladies who must have been about his age and he smiled at the opportunity, it was obvious they were someone's daughters and he decided to go and introduce himself. After all as the oldest child he was his father's heir and would inherit more than his brother and sister.

"William I'm bored" George whispered

"George go and do something useful instead of annoying me, I've got my own work to do" William said harshly

William then began walking over to the young girls completely abandoning George to suffer the party on his own. However William did not get far, as soon as he was halfway across the room he heard his name being shouted.

"William my son come over here, there are some people I want you to meet" His father called.

William sighed at his father's untimely interruption; he looked at the girls one last time before he crossed the room and into the hallway where his father stood with six men all staring up at the portraits of the Harkett ancestors.

"Gentleman, this is my son William" Edward said proudly

William shook hands with all six men, he recognised a couple of them but there were a few that he had not yet had the luxury of meeting officially. All of the men smiled at him as they shook his hand and William smiled back at them.

"William this is Prime Minister Herbert Asquith" Edward said

"Hello William, nice to meet you" The Prime Minister said

"You too Prime Minister" William replied

He then turned to the next man who smiled at him; he was a tall man with short neat brown hair and a brown moustache. William had never met this man before but he did seem familiar, William suspected that he was an MP like his father.

"William this is David Lloyd George, the Chancellor of the Exchequer" Edward informed

William shook his hand and said hello, he then turned to the next man who was taller than the Chancellor, he also had a short brown hair and had a thicker moustache. He also spoke with an American accent.

"William this is John Jacob Astor, he's an American Businessman" said Edward

"Nice to meet you Mr. Astor" William said

"You too Master Harkett" Astor replied

William then looked at the next man; he had short black hair as well as a black moustache. He was shorter than Astor and seemed to have certain arrogance about him. William had never met him and did not know who he was.

"William this is Bruce J. Ismay, he's the owner of the White Star Line shipping company" Edward announced

"Nice to meet you Mr. Ismay" William said

"You as well William" Ismay replied

William then turned to the next man, he was short and had brown hair on his head which was starting to thin. William knew this man and had only seen him once or twice before but had never spoken to him before.

"William this is Winston Churchill, he's the First Lord of the Admiralty" Edward informed

"Nice to meet you Mr. Churchill" William said

"You too young master" Churchill replied.

William then turned to the last man; he was tall like Astor and also had brown hair and a thick brown moustache. He was the only one of the men dressed in a military uniform, the tunic was red and had many medals attached to the chest.

"William this is Lord Kitchener, he's a Field Marshall in the army" Edward said

William shook Kitchener's hand and smiled at him, Kitchener nodded back and then the men all broke out in conversation again. William stood next to his father and just listened to the conversations the men were having.

"So Bruce I hear you have a new ship just waiting to set sail across the Atlantic"? Astor asked Ismay

"Yes it's called the Titanic, unfortunately we've had to postpone the maiden voyage as we needed parts from her to help repair her sister ship Olympic, but she should be ready sometime next year" Ismay explained

"Well I must sail on her one day" Astor replied

"As must I" Edward added

William listened to the men but wanted nothing more than to go looking for those two girls; however he knew not to leave until his father said he could go and it seemed that Edward wanted to show off his eldest son.

"Edward tell us, who are all the men in these paintings"? The Prime Minister asked

"Those are the men of my line, each man since my great great grandfather has served in the army and gone to war" he explained

He then pointed to the first portrait of man standing in a military uniform; there was a golden plaque at the bottom of the portrait with writing on it. The other six men all leaned forward to read the writing.

_Henry Thomas Harkett (1731 – 1791)_

"That's my great great grandfather, he fought in the French and Indian War and was present and the Siege of Quebec" Edward informed.

He then pointed to the next man who stood in a pose and was also wearing a military uniform. There was also a golden plaque at the bottom at the portrait which the men all read.

_John Benedict Harkett (1751 – 1831)_

"That is my great grandfather; he fought in the American War of Independence and was present at the Battles of Bunker Hill and Yorktown"

Edward then pointed at the next painting; this was the same as the others. The man was wearing a military uniform and was standing in the posture of a true upper class man; there was also a golden plaque at the bottom.

_Edward John Harkett (1784-1857)_

"That is my grandfather and namesake; he fought in the War against Napoleon and was at the Battle of Waterloo"

The men then turned to the next painting; this one was the same as the others. Once again it had a plaque at the bottom of the portrait which gave the information of the person posing in military uniform.

_Albert Thomas Harkett (1786-1844) _

"That is my Great Uncle; he fought in the War of 1812 and was one of the soldiers who burned down Washington DC"

Astor looked a bit offended at that but he shook it off and just laughed, Edward then pointed to the next painting where his eyes showed sadness at looking at the man's face. It was obvious that Edward missed this man deeply.

_Richard Peter Harkett (1825-1883)_

"That is my Father; he fought in the Crimean War and was present at the Battles of Alma and Balaklava"

The six men nodded and admired the paintings; they then started breaking out into conversations until finally Churchill turned to Edward while pointing at another painting which hung on the wall.

"Edward, who is in that painting"? He asked

Edward looked at the painting and his eyes once again became sad, the rest of the men looked at the golden plaque of the portrait completely ignoring the look Edward had on his face.

_Benjamin George Harkett (1864-1882)_

"That is my younger brother Benjamin; he joined the army at eighteen years old just like I did. He fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War and fought and died at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir in Egypt" Edward explained.

"Sorry to hear that old boy" Churchill said

"Yes it hit my father the hardest, he never could come to terms with it and ended up dying a year later from fever" Edward replied

"So you were in the army too Edward"? Asked Kitchener

"Yes I joined in Eighteen Seventy Nine when I was only eighteen, I fought in the Anglo-Zulu War and fought at the Battle of Rorke's Drift" He explained

"What about you William, will you one day follow in your ancestors footsteps and join up"? Kitchener asked turning to him.

"Of course he will, William will make a fine soldier and officer" Edward boomed with pride.

"And with the tensions rising between Britain and Germany at the moment, war could be on the horizon" Churchill added

"Yes and William will fight"! Edward announced with a firm hand on his shoulder.

"What of your other son"? Kitchener asked

"Oh yes George, he will fight as well of course but William will be the leader"

The men continued to chat until finally Edward allowed William to return to the party; William quickly moved away from the group and headed straight to the garden. He breathed a sigh of relief when his face met the cool air; he looked up at the sky and saw the sparkling stars shining above him.

"William, are you alright sweetheart"? A voice asked

William turned around to see his mother watching him with a worried look on her face, he smiled at her to show that he was alright but Alice did not buy it. She walked over to him and placed a soft and comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Tell me what's bothering you" she ordered

"Nothing" he mumbled

"I'm your mother William, I know when you're lying" she replied sternly

William sighed; his mother was an immaculate woman. She had spent most of her married life protesting for women's rights. She shared the belief that women should be allowed to vote and be allowed to do all the jobs that men did, William agreed with his mother's cause as she was the strongest woman he knew.

"Father has really high hopes for me and I'm just worried that I won't turn into the man he wants me to be" he explained

"William don't worry about your father, become the man you want to be" Alice replied wisely

"I don't know what kind of man I want to be" William moaned

"William I am sure that you will do great things, after all you are a Harkett and I can see you becoming a brave and honourable man that will make me proud to be your mother" she whispered pulling him into a comforting hug.

William loved his family deeply, even his siblings though he never showed it. He knew that nothing bad could happen to him as long as he had his family around him.


End file.
